Comment permalink

Four big-buzz games in the next year that are almost guaranteed to live up to the hype.

OK, so it’s the end of 2011 and we’ve seen some incredible games out for 360 and XBLA. Just since September we’ve seen Dark Souls, Battlefield 3, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. But I don’t want to look back (even though I’m still playing the crap out of 3 of those 4 games). I want to look ahead to what will be coming to the Xbox 360 in the new year. There are some great things lined up for 2012. Here are a few of the ones we’re looking forward to that are getting the biggest buzz.

Inversion – Due to release on February 7th, by Saber Interactive, Inversion is a 3rd person action shooter with a kickass physics engine that does some incredible things with its gravity. The scenarios that the game will put players in include zero-G and destructible environments, as well as the ability to wield gravity in combat. It’s got an 8.7 average reviewer score from Gamespot.

Mass Effect 3 – So ends this epic space opera odyssey from Bioware. Sam Shepard will be launching into this unique and visually-stunning RPG one last time with a few of the old standby characters and a whole menagerie of new ones. In addition there are rumors that the last iteration will include an online multiplayer component powered by BF3’s Frostbite2 engine, which would make it damn near perfect. Due to release March 6th.

Halo 4 – The epic first-person shooter that launched the original Xbox into world-wide fame is no longer Bungie’s brainchild. Having sold off the franchise to concentrate on other things (lunatics) 343 Industries is now the curator. Although little has been officially said about the next game, there’s a likely release in the 4th quarter of 2012. It’s unlikely that the studio could screw up the franchise too badly, with five resoundingly successful previous versions. Of course, you never know, look at what Treyarch did to Call of Duty.

Bioshock Infinite – I’m so stoked for this game that I just wrote “stoked”. Bioshock Infinite, from Irrational Games. Based on the first two games, which had brilliant art direction and gameplay and an engaging narrative, expectations for Bioshock Infinite are high. Of course, the trailers and other promotional material all stand up to those expectations. Although there has not been a definite release date, is expected to hit shelves sometime in 2012. I’m sure there will be lines of gamers ready to buy them up when they get there.